Cementing a repair

Aug 21, 2014

by Tim Queeney

Courtesy www.pendanablog.com

This past June the 48-foot Dutch-built sloop Stormvogel was on a passage from Port Villa, Vanuatu to Cairns, Australia, along with two companion vessels, Southern Star, a Nordhavn 47 and Oda, a 40-foot Bavaria. During the passage the crew of Stormvogel discovered that damage to the boat's centerboard had caused a serious leak to develop. Stormvogel, on the verge of sinking, alerted its two companion vessels and also called for help to international rescue forces. The Nordhavn and the Bavaria stood by to supply assistance and a 700-foot containership was diverted and also arrived on the scene.

The leak aboard Stormvogel was brought under control, but there was still the danger that the centerboard, immobilized with just a piece of wood, might become unstable again and the leak resume. Something was needed to hold the board firmly in place. The solution? Sixty pounds of cement from the container ship and that was tansferred via the Nordhavn's tender to Stormvogel. The centerboard was cemented in place and Stormvogel was able to make landfall at Cairns. Nothing like a little cement in the spares kit for making a repair at sea.